Aldo Maria Valli
H/T Ricognizioni
(once known as Riscossa Cristiana)
June 4, 2019
Our persecuted and forgotten brothers and sisters in Christ
“The persecution of
Christians is at a level near that of genocide.” This statement is from an
unexpected source - the British BBC, which reports on a study commissioned by
the Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, and carried out by the Anglican Bishop of
Truro, Philip Ian Mounstephen.
Reportedly, one out of three people in the
world is suffering religious persecution, and Christians are decidedly “the
most persecuted group, so much so, that in three areas of the world the level
and nature of the persecution is ostensibly nearing the international
definition (adopted by the United Nations) of genocide.”
In this regard, Jeremy Hunt, notes how Western
Governments seem to be “fast asleep” and incapable of reacting or at the very
least of showing sensitivity in the face of such a situation.
According to Hunt, there is perhaps
embarrassment, on the part of the West, connected to the fact that some
European countries have a guilty conscience in that they are former colonialist
countries. Even if such an attitude is in part understandable, we need to stress
that in reality, many of the Christians most persecuted in the world, have
never had anything to do with colonialism and with the presence of Western
missionaries. Christians threatened with genocide, for example, the Assyrians
of Syria and Iraq or the Coptics in
Egypt, were Christians many centuries before the forefathers of the European
colonizers became Christian and went on missions.
Nigerian Christians
The BBC report
identifies the “politically correct” [phenomenon]
as the main reason for the West’s
indifference, an absurd attitude, given that, as Hunt explains, very frequently,
the Christian populations persecuted are also the poorest in the world.
However, Raymond
Ibrahim (whose latest book is The Sword
and the Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West) in
an article for Gatestone Institute, notes that albeit the BBC rightly denounces
“the politically correct”, in turn, they show themselves to be a victim of it
when they avoid indicating who is actually persecuting the Christians and why.
Syrian Christians
“The overwhelming majority of Christian persecutions” – writes Ibrahim –
“take place in predominantly Muslim nations.” According to World Watch List
2019 of Open Doors, which studies the fifty nations where Christians are most
persecuted, “Islamic oppression continues to have an impact on millions of Christians”
and in seven of the nations most afflicted, the cause of the persecution is specifically
Islam. Which means that for millions of Christians openly following Jesus may
have painful consequences, including death.
Among
the worst persecutors are the countries that govern by Islamic law - the Sharia. In Afghanistan it is simple: “Christianity
cannot exist”, says the Open Doors report. Since it is an Islamic State constitutively,
government officials, ethnic groups, religious officials and citizens are programmatically
hostile to Christians.
Likewise
in Somalia, the small Christian community is under constant threat of attack, given
that the Sharia is an integral part
of the country’s constitution and the persecution of Christians almost always involves
violence. Also in Iran, the report states: “society is governed by Islamic law,
which entails that the rights and professional possibilities for Christians are
greatly limited.” Similarly significant is the fact that thirty-eight of the
fifty nations in which Christians are the most persecuted are predominantly
Muslim.
Church destruction in Syria
In conclusion, when you hear that Christianity in those
countries is at risk of extinction - it
is no exaggeration.
Translation: Contributor Francesca
Romana
